At the 2019 Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMAs), veteran Highlife musician Amakye Dede admitted that he was coerced into crowning Kuami Eugene Highlife King.
Amakye Dede said that he disclosed the information on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Wednesday (June 14), claiming that the event’s organizers forced him to do so.
Despite my best efforts, I did not intend to do that. I was made to crown Kuami Eugene through force. I even asked someone to put down the crown they handed me, but they later said, “No, I have to crown him,” so I did,” he admitted.
When Amakye Dede named Kuami Eugene the King of Highlife music for the foreseeable future four years ago, he not only sparked intense debate but also came under fire from the general public.
Even though this is the first time Amakye Dede has spoken about the incident, which many people at the time viewed as regrettable, others have already done so, including highlife musician Akwaboah and Kwasi Aboagye, host of Peace FM Entertainment Review.
Akwaboah referred to the crowning as a hoax perpetrated by Charterhouse, the VGMA’s organizers, in an interview with Kwaku Manu in 2020.
Eugene Kuami is my son. In his development as an artist, I had a significant influence. I worked with him and artists like Kidi and Kurl Songz as a voice coach on the MTN Hitmaker show. Thus, it would be incorrect to crown him the Highlife King.
Also at that time, artists like Daddy Lumba, Kojo Antwi, and Kofi B were still active. Uncle Amakye Dede would never carry a crown from home to perform on stage, thus I believe he was coerced into doing it. Akwaboah speculated that the organizers may have had a hand in all of that.
